Hands With Tongue
by skwirelygurli
Summary: Austin can't keep his eyes off Ally. Auslly.


**Hands With Tongue, an Austin and Ally one-shot**

**I do not own Austin and Ally. Had time for a prompt from maddiegirl56. Please enjoy, and leave reviews!**

When it comes to spying on someone, there is one key role to follow.

Don't get caught.

They've barely made a dent in the morning, and already two amateurs have broken the rule.

"Dude, are you even paying attention?" Dez asks, moving his head two inches to the left. He blocks his view of Ally.

"Of course. But don't you think you've been holding onto this grudge against Chuck for too long?" Austin tilts to the side.

"Don't you think you've been holding onto your crush on Ally too long?"

Moving out of the way, because the bell has rung, he takes his seat.

After stealing a quick glance in her direction, he responds. "We tried going out. It got in the way, remember?"

"That was forever ago." He waves it off, as if he hadn't been counting the days. It'll be one year in three days.

His Team Ally shirt is a bit snug, having put on a few pounds from his part time job at the ice cream shop, but if they got back together, he'd wear it. Pudgy stomach or not.

A pop quiz lands on his desk. He'd already had enough questions to answer. Ones like, who is that boy Ally was talking to, and why was her hand holding his like it was no big deal? News flash. It's a very big deal.

He doesn't even know the half of it.

She was running late for school, as a result of a dream, the plot of which she will not repeat, and was running down the sidewalk to make it on time. Her book bag was bouncing on her back, and there was no doubt she'd have a bruise tomorrow.

"Need a ride?" He pulled up to the curb.

"Eugene?" The boy had sat behind her all semester, blindly taking papers as she passed them back. He had a tendency to draw on his hands.

She hadn't thought he'd recognize her, let alone ask her if she needed a ride.

He leaned across the car to open the door. "Hop in, or we'll both be late for English."

They'd talked on the ride over, because it can be terribly awkward when one stays mum. He'd told her about how he applied to art school for that fall.

So when they had gotten into class, she took a look at his marked hands. It was much easier to see them when she held them up.

It's not her fault if things looked a bit romantic.

With her eyes constantly wandering to the other side of the room, she doubted it did.

"Is there something going on between the two of you?" Eugene nodded in the direction of the boys.

"Me and Dez? Psh, no." Hopefully he wouldn't ask about Austin. She would have crossed her fingers, but they were still around his hand.

Oh, excuse me as I release your hand so I can cross my fingers, to which you'll ask why, and I'll have to tell you what I had been crossing my fingers to avoid telling you.

She had to process the thought twice before it made sense.

"I meant Moon."

That was another thing she had noticed about him. He always called people by their surnames.

"It's complicated." Her shoulders slumped.

"We don't have to be, Miss Dawson."

The most indirect way to ask a girl out is to not have her realize that you're asking her out. Then she'll have to say something along the lines of "Are you asking me out?"

To which he can respond, "Do you want me to ask you out?"

If Austin didn't know the half of it, then who was going to help her fill in the blanks?

_(the page breaks here)_

The class enters the library.

"Do you want to go out with him?" Trish speaks at a normal volume, which not only upsets the librarian, but Ally too.

"I barely know him," she whispers. "Besides, there's that whole thing with Austin..."

Had she known he was sitting behind a stack of books (he's playing Jenga with Dez during their study hall) she would have never mentioned it. It's a good thing his ears can't pick up on noises so quiet.

"It's been what, a year? If he wanted to get back with you, he would." Again, normal volume.

Hand paused on the book stack, he listens closer. Her voice can't rise above the noise of his best friend telling him to make a move, so he shushs him.

Whether he meant a move on Ally, or in the game, he still doesn't know. He just hopes he can catch the end of the conversation.

"I'll think about it," she says, walking into the computer lab.

Think about what? Getting together with him? That boy from first period? If penguins have knees?

Hold on, do they? He's seen them waddle around, and waddling does not require knees.

They have to have knees.

Looks like he's going to have to watch that penguin movie tonight. Maybe he could invite her over to join him.

It won't be a date. They both know that it would only make things awkward.

'How cool is that penguin?'

'Very cool.'

No duh, it's a penguin. They live in the ice and snow. Of course they're cool.

He yanks a book and the tower collapses.

"I win!" shouts Dez. Getting shushed, he pumps his fist in the air a second time, whispering the words.

He can win all the games he wants.

Austin wants to win the girl.

_(the page breaks here)_

During lunch, a bran muffin flies across the cafeteria, onto her juice pouch. It squirts out.

Great, now she smells like fruit punch.

Napkins. Why did she have to give them all to Dez? If he hadn't put so much ketchup on his burger, he wouldn't need them all. It's not like they were doing him any good. His face was covered in it.

Pushing back from her seat, she collides with Eugene. "Sorry."

"Whoa. Do you need a napkin? Here, take mine." He hands her a stack from his tray.

"Don't you need them?" Wiping her collarbone dry, she moves onto her arms.

Dry and sticky: two adjectives that now unfortunately describe her.

Kind and helpful: two for Eugene.

Steaming and spy-licious: two for Austin. Not that spy-licious is an adjective, but he's pretending to be engrossed in his hamburger, all the while staring at the two of them.

He'd make for a terrible spy.

"I can get more. How'd it happen anyhow?" They walk over to the napkin dispensers. It's not too far, and if he leans to the left, he can almost hear them.

"You look ridiculous." Trish kicks the muffin away from the table.

He sets his elbows down, burying his head in his hands. One of his elbows lands on top of his burger.

A squished patty for lunch. That's exactly what he wanted.

No, what he wanted was to be the one to help Ally clean up. Because he likes her, and wants to show that he can be good for her.

It has nothing to do with the fact that his hands would be gliding over her body, slowing mopping up every droplet.

Now replace the word 'hands' with 'tongue.'

"Why is your elbow in your burger?" Ally asks, returning with Eugene.

"Man!" Condiments drip from his arm.

Extending his replenished stack to him, he smiles. "No worries Moon. We've got plenty of napkins."

No more replacing 'hands' with 'tongue.'

_(the page breaks here)_

Thwacking the birdie across the court, she laughs.

"You borrowed your sister's gym shorts?" The word 'cheer' crosses his backside in bold print.

"Like 'em?" He turns around to wiggle, hitting the birdie backwards.

It crosses the net.

Austin stares in disbelief.

"Get it!" she yells to him. He makes a move, but he's too late.

Co-ed badminton officially sucks.

Even when he's not trying to spy, because they were right out in the open, and he was paying attention to his rival (on the court and courting Ally) he still fails.

"My bad."

What will it take to make his bad a good? He'll do anything.

Except wear his sister's gym shorts. That's kind of impossible, seeing as how he doesn't have a sister to loan him shorts when he forgets his.

Responsibility can be a turn on.

Though saying 'Hey Ally, I remembered my shorts today,' isn't the best way to get a girl.

(_the page breaks here)_

Waiting by her locker, he fixes his hair in the reflection of his phone screen.

"I need to grab my math book, but then I'll be ready," he hears her tell Eugene. He ducks around the corner.

"Not a problem." His inked hand is on her shoulder.

Life is not fair. He'd spent all afternoon working up the courage to ask her over to watch the penguin movie. It's no fun to do it alone.

His phone goes off.

Rule number two of being a spy: put your phone on vibrate.

"Austin?"

"Hey Dez. I'll be there in a minute. I forgot my-" Aside from his excuse, what had he forgotten?

"You're spying on Ally, aren't you?"

"How'd you know?"

Someone taps on his shoulder. "Because I'm spying on you."

Despite Austin nearly jumping out of his skin, Dez laughs likes it's all a big game. There's no way it's only a game. And if for some messed up reason it is, then he's going to be a sore loser about it.

He's going to go home and find out if penguins have knees, because that has a definite answer.

This whole him and Ally thing has more gray area than an elephant's behind.

"We're going to Mini's. You guys want to come with?" She's there, and he could reach for her hand, but there's one already in his spot.

"I'm going to head home."

Hoisting his book bag onto his shoulder, he takes one final look at her. One deliberate look, because stealing glances is for the cowardly, and he's been cowardly enough for one day. He'll make amends tomorrow.

He'll never be a spy, but he can be that guy that asks her out before Eugene asks her out for real. She deserves a proper question to which she can give a proper response.

That response being yes, thereby granting him full staring privileges.

He needs to learn to blink less.

This is an opportunity he doesn't want to lose.


End file.
